Got 20k to spend on a new car love the scoob, but you know how it is when you want a change.

Was thinking of the focus rs( dont start) but i am not so sure.

A lotus carlton is and was a childhood dream any comments on them ?

Cheers Rottie.

One of my all-time favourites too :) . Remember it's a 12 year old £50,000 car, not a new £20,000 car, so bills will be correspondingly high. Check out this site for some useful first-hand information on owning one.

H7,

Wow!!!!!!!!!!

How much money has that guy spent,
maybe i wont think any futher on this one, now what about a jag xjr supercharger.

Rottie

One of our suppliers took one with 50k on the clock as part payment for a job last year, it had a sheaf of bills with it as thick as a bible. It appeared to have eaten clutches like a scoob, chewed diffs for fun, and destroyed a set of rear tyres, 12" wide bespoke goodyears, every 8-9 thousand miles:eek: All up the bills totalled more than the thing had cost new!
So definitely a car for a rich man:D

My boss is on his second XJ-R, the first one was an early 6 cylinder, the current one is a V8. He had 5 & 7 series BMW's before the first jag, and says now that the only thing that would get him out an XJ now, would be a supercharged X type R, but apparently they aren't doing one:( Both these were bought new by the company, but second hand they are a steal, he got 13k :eek: for the first one when it was just 3 years old.

Mate, I sold mine to get an Impreza.

The Carlton is a different animal to anything I've ever driven. O owned mine for 4 years, hardly any problems at all in that time, although servicing is like a 2nd mortgage!! Fuel cons is about 19mpg, alot lower at speed obviously.

For sheer road presence is ranks as one of the best - I've had idiots in Ferrari, Porsche and BMW 7 series, think that they could mess with the Carlton - it was a beast to drive. One thing - if you dont respect the rear wheels, they will bite - trust me!

I'd recommend getting one - as it was my boyhood dream realised. A good one will be about the 16-17K with FSH and 50-60K. I'd avoid the LHD ones though, as they a nightmare for overtaking anything - and overtake you will.

The car has a reputed 177mph top speed, but its more like 165-170. Chip and decat the car, and you easily gain another 60bhp. 0-60 is approx 5 secs with this, and the best improvement is driveabilty and sound. Fit a scorpion exhaust.

Make sure you have Tracker etc. as the car will attract everyone trying to get a passenger ride in it. And cavalier drivers will flash you as from a distance you do unfortunately look like a cavvy - obviously their faces change once they realise :-)

Go for it mate - its a monster!!

Right, XJR first - very quick, mostly auto though there are some manuals about. Someone currently working for me has one - his servicing costs him a fortune, this is his 4th Jag and his advice is that everything breaks @ 60-80k! In the past 6 months he's spent about 4k for nothing at all major!

As for the carlton, well a childhood dream of mine too, but I don't actually like them now, have you seen one - looks very dated compared to similar era M5 etc and seems to cost a fortune - there is a test of one in Evo this month!

- Jon

PS buy a skyline GTR

Cheers for the replys,

I always fancied an Elise so i borrowed a sport160s for the morning last week, was seriously considering the purchase, but after the drive i didnt want it anymore. Might be the same with the LC.

I will still keep looking tho.

Rottie

There was feature on the LC in EVO about five months ago.
I got very excited until I looked on the web about what goes wrong.

Your gonna need deep pockets and have the car off the road a lot as most of the stuff that breaks is as rare as hens teeth.

Such a shame coz it is such an animal :)

Nick

Even though the XJ-R is one of my must haves, polarbearit last statement makes a lot of sense:D

Parts as not quite as rare as they may seem. There are now plenty of specially manufactured parts that owners/owners clubs have had developed (often much cheaper than OEM prices). I have no great worries. Also, there are a few improved parts to deal with the clutch issues.

0-60 times aren't that great (anywhere from 4.7 upwards depending on conditions and how brave with the clutch friction plate you are) but that's not what the car is all about. It's too big for that kind of thing. But one it's rolling ..... :D

I don't think that you can really decide until you've driven one. The problem is, anyone who owns a goodun doesn't want to part with it. Anyone who is selling is very wary of thrill seekers.

LCG

Also worth looking at the Merc 500E aswell as the XJR. Cheaper to run than the Jag

(I'm biased as I own one though!)

Bri

Hello Bri, nice to see you again :)

Finally gone Heavy Metal?


Ralf

The only parts which cause you a problem are the original alloy wheels. Everything else is available.

As to their reliability, there are many owners whose car have only been serviced during 100K, and never lost a day to breakdown. Its a Carlton - ultra reliable, loved by the Police!

As to its image, I didnt think it looked dated at all - more than styling was finally catching up with the car - look closely at a Carlton and you'll see things that only in the last year or two have gone mass appeal.

I may be biased, but I owned the car for 4 years and know what I'm talking about.

[Edited by Marky-San - 9/9/2002 7:33:37 PM]

Check latest "EVO" magazine. Some one near me has one.. A lady who drives hers everyday. I think she must have had it for about 8 years now. Thought an engine rebuild cost £££££££££££££KKKKKKKKKKKK's??

Probably does but is there any reason it will need a rebuild ?? :confused:

These things are fecking bullet prrof and actually very detuned. Chip it (and remove the limiters) and you are hitting 450-500BHP.


BTW, the top speed is LIMITED to 176 MPH. The public outcry at such a car (marketed as a FAMILY saloon) made GM decide to limit the car to this speed.

Hence why its always gonna be the fastest production saloon* ever as limiters are imposed at 155MPH now.




*production saloon = over 500 made


Rich

Marky-san, what number was yours?

Top speed is limited by the gearing. In 5th gear, the rev limiter stops it going any faster. Changing to 6th actually slows you down - it's a cruising gear. That's why atmospheric conditions affect the top speed. I know people who have had their's off the clock one day but struggled to make 170 another day.

I know of a few standard examples that have done over 190k now with no problems. The only real worry is the timing chain, but this can be sorted for £500. Heat is the other problem. When the engine is switched off, the temperature at the back of the block continues to rise. There are systems built in to deal with this so it isn't normally a problem, but if they are not working properly, the excess heat can crack the head. A new head can be sorted for £500 (not from Lotus though - they want far more). That's it really. No other major issues. No more weak points than any other car.

Power can be upped substantially but at the cost of reliability (as always). Remember, Lotus built this car to last. I could up the boost on mine etc quite easily and get far more power but then it would be unlikely to see 200k miles. The same can be said of any tuned car - up the power at the expense of longevity and reliability.

Any questions, please feel free to ask.
LCG

When I woz looking at an LC, the trouble seemed to be sorting out and sourcing the bell housing cracking, the fork selector and head gaskets.

Has this position changed? Where, how quickly and how much are they?

If favourable then perhaps an LC is back on my list.

The main thing that has my bottom twitching is driving in the wet. Is there a decent traction control that can be added on?

Nick

New bell housings are available (£600 rip-off). Cracked ones can be repaired (permenantly) for about £200. Thrust arms are available (but never fail on their own - they usually are damaged when the retaining pin breaks which is what causes most clutch failures. A better pin is availble through the owners club). Head gaskets are kind of available (head gaskets are GSi3000 items with extra holes cut into them).

I'm not saying that the clutch won't break. But if it does, better parts can be fiteed thay will drasticaly reduce the chances of it ever happening again.

Traction control? That's what your right foot is for. Real men don't use traction control :D Serously, I do know of 2 or 3 LCs with traction control fitted. I can point you in the right direction if the need arises. Personally, I find the LC very forgiving in the wet. In damp conditions, flooring it in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th will induce lots of wheelspin (419 ft/lb of torque is a lot) but it's very controllable and doesn't tend to step the back end out unless you want it to. Our track session at Trax was wet and I got into a power slide coming onto the pit straight. I just kept the wheels spinning for about half the straight and sort of crabbed my way along. Great fun (but slowed me down). It's generally recognised that the LCs wet handling is pretty good for a RWD car. You can't chuck it around like you can a Scooby - you need to develop a degree of smoothness and finesse to achieve good results on the twisty bits i.e. it takes more skill. That's not meant to be insulting to anyone - it's just how cars differ. You need more skill to get a RWD car handling well in tight corners and twists than you do an AWD car. I'm not saying that I have those skills myself.

LCG

I would imagine RaceLogic Traction Control could be fitted, as they seem to have a pretty close relationship with GM anyway. Their kit is fitted as standard to the European spec Holden Commodores, both the GTS & the GTS-R. Hmmm, now there is a bit of a weapon:D

Thanks for the info.
I've seen 2 Holdens on the road in UK. Not the best looking car but appear to do the business.
One of them was on Jersey which is probably the worst place to drive one - what a waste......

Richie: according to the latest stuff magazine the Audi RS6 has just taken the Carlton's crown as the fastest production saloon car in the world. Limited to 178mph including a 12% throttle deviation. £60,000 though :(

I'm upgrading my STi soon for a 2000 model Audi S4 Avant
Check out the spec on these well made motors.
265 bhp
295 lbs/ft
6 speed etc
0-60 5.5
155 mph
£850 chip gets you 315 bhp:D:D

Dal

Having recently looked at a XJR as a replacement for my Scooby I have to tell you that all of the V8 XJRs are autos...some of the XKRs are manuals....I decided that the XJR was a little too old man for me at the end of the day and bought a Audi S4 instead.


Jeff

I've never seen a blown jag with a manual, are they like the rest of the rangeappears to be, and worth less than the auto equivalent.

Jeff - the XKR and V8 XJR are auto only.

The straight six XJR however was available as a manual.....


ps Lotus Carlton drool dribble drool.....